Fans looking for some rare or hard-to-find content from Janet Jackson will flip for a new pressing of Control: The Remixes on 2LP and CD. Originally released in Europe and Japan in 1987, this pressing features all the tracks of the former territory’s releases (along with the original U.K. vinyl cover) plus additional mixes from the Control era. It’s the perfect representation of the dance-ready qualities of Control‘s five U.S. Top 5 hits. (A multicolor variant of that vinyl can be ordered through uDiscover Music’s store.)

UMe has four multi-platinum classics from Janet coming to deluxe 2-LP vinyl pressings. Rhythm Nation has the sequence of the expanded CD program, while janet. and The Velvet Rope are making their domestic vinyl debuts. Read more here!

Soundgarden and Artists Den are partnering with UMe for the release of Soundgarden: Live from The Artists Den, a title that will span many configurations. The super deluxe box set will include the band’s complete show of February 17, 2013 at L.A.’s Wiltern Theatre on Blu-ray, boasting 5.1 and high-resolution stereo mixes and bonus interview footage; plus four 180-gram black vinyl LPs; 2 CDs featuring the entire set; a 40-page photo book; lithographs of each band member; and a replica ticket and backstage pass. There will also be a standalone 4-LP, 180-gram black vinyl edition; a limited-edition 4-LP color vinyl variant with each disc featuring a unique splatter design; a standalone Blu-ray; and a standard, 2-CD set. Read more here!

Cherry Red continues its box set series of the CBB’s albums this time with FM Live (1973), Sense of Direction (1974), Stamp Album (1975), and Gold Plated (1976), the latter featuring the pop hit “Couldn’t Get It Right.” A total of six bonus tracks have been appended to Sense of Direction and Gold Plated.

This 3-CD box set collects Soft Machine’s three albums for EMI’s Harvest imprint. Bundles was the group’s first for Harvest and featured Mike Ratledge (keyboards), Karl Jenkins (oboe, piano, soprano sax), John Marshall (drums), Roy Babbington (bass) and new member and future guitar giant Allan Holdsworth (guitar). But by the time follow-up Softs was recorded, Holdsworth had departed the group. It had Jenkins (keyboards), Marshall (drums), and Babbington (bass) joined by new member John Etheridge (guitar), along with saxophonist Alan Wakeman. Soft Machine’s final album for Harvest was 1978’s Alive & Well Recorded In Paris. The band’s line-up had changed again: Jenkins (piano, electric keyboards, synthesizer), Marshall (drums), Etheridge (acoustic and electric guitars), and new members Steve Cook (bass guitar) and Ric Sanders (violin).

Here’s a major discovery from the late, London-born saxophonist. Around the same time he was busy recording MOR covers, Tubby Hayes was still indulging his artistic side by playing in a pure jazz mode for sessions held May and June 1969. Hayes, Mike Pyne (piano), Ron Mathewson (bass), and Spike Wells (drums) cut a number of Hayes originals plus covers of Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields’ haunting “Where Am I Going?” and Duke Pearson’s “You Know I Care.” But the tapes have languished in Universal’s U.K. vaults…until now. Grits, Greens and Beans will be released in 1CD, 2CD, and LP formats, as mastered by Gearbox Studios. The single CD has what would have been the final album while the 2CD version preserves all of the session takes. The 180-gram vinyl edition of the 1CD release was created using an original 1960s-era Studer tape machine and a Scully lathe. The CD appears to be encoded in the MQA format (playable on all CD players).

January 25, 1996 should have been a triumphant day for 35-year old Jonathan Larson; that evening, his musical Rent (for which he provided book, music, and lyrics) was to begin previews off-Broadway. Tragically, Larson died that morning of an aortic dissection, and Rent went on to become one of the most significant pieces in the musical theatre canon. Since then, Larson’s tragically-curtailed oeuvre has been mined for projects including the musical Tick…Tick…Boom! which he had begun as a solo show, and now, The Jonathan Larson Project. Previously available on digital formats, it makes its CD debut today in a deluxe, limited edition package with a 40-page hardcover book. (A standard jewel case CD version will arrive on August 23.) The brainchild of producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper (Be More Chill), TJLP has enlisted a cast of bright, young Broadway stars including George Salazar, Andy Mientus, Nick Blaemire, Lauren Marcus, and Krysta Rodriguez, as well as a five-piece band, to preserve, perform, and record a host of never-before-heard Larson compositions. The album features 17 tracks including a demo performed by Larson himself – a host of memorable, melodic music with appeal to pop and musical theatre fans alike.

For the second volume in its Lost Broadway series of 2-CD sets, the U.K.’s Stage Door Records label has turned its attention to the years 1956 and 1957. Like the first volume (which looked back to 1961), this edition features original cast performances on CD 1 and pop covers and rare interpretations on CD 2 from (primarily) the same shows, including Happy Hunting, Mr. Wonderful, Jamaica, New Girl in Town, and Candide. Ethel Merman, Sammy Davis, Jr., Chita Rivera, Lena Horne, Gwen Verdon, Barbara Cook, Eartha Kitt, and even (future Dame) Maggie Smith are all featured. Watch this space for a full-length feature on this title!

Sugar Ray is back with the band’s first album of original material since 2009 and it’s…a little yachty. They’ve teamed with collaborators including veteran producer Michael Lloyd (The Osmonds, Mike Love, Barry Manilow) for a breezy, summer-tinged set capped off with a cover of Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Pina Colada Song).” What’s not to like?

The Second Disc

The Second Disc is devoted to the weird, wild and wonderful world of music catalogue projects. Every week, Mike Duquette, Joe Marchese, Sam Stone, and Randy Fairman bring you news, reviews, commentary and features on remasters, reissues, compilations and box sets.

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